|
Kings of Jerusalem
The kingdom of Jerusalem was created as a consequence of the First
Crusade (1096-99). Its first ruler Godefroy of Bouillon was however unwilling to
be called king in the Holy Land since he regarded Jesus as the one and only king.
Instead he called himself "protector of the Holy Sepulcher" (Advocatus
Sancti Sepulchri). The capitol of the kingdom was moved to Acre 1187 after the
Muslim's conquest of Jerusalem, and it remained there even during the years 1229-1244
when the city of Jerusalem was in Christian hands again. The last remnant of the kingdom
of Jerusalem (on the mainland) fell 1291 when Acre was conquered by the Muslims.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem is conquered by Egypt 1291
The last king of Jerusalem was also king of Cyprus and he and his successors
continued to call themselves kings of Jerusalem after 1291, a land they hoped
to reconquer. So did the kings of Sicily as well as the heirs of the house of
Hohenstaufen who claimed the throne as the rightful kings even before the kingdom
was lost to Egypt. As a consequence of this the title have "king of Jerusalem"
been used by a very large number of princes from 1291 to the present day even though
the kingdom no longer exist.
|
